But so far, experts say, governments have been reluctant to treat the pests as a public problem.

"The response is just totally inadequate," said Susan Jones, an Ohio State University entomologist and member of the Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force. "There has been so little done."

Jones said the task force has had scant money for public education and nothing to spend on extermination. Members agree that the problem is worsening because many people don't know how to reduce risk and can't afford to hire a pest-control company.

"We're a group of volunteers who are just trying to get the word out," Jones said. "Meanwhile, the bugs are spreading like wildfire."

With reported infestations now in the thousands, the effects have crept beyond private residences. According to the task force and public officials:

• Children have unwittingly brought bedbugs to schools on their clothing, shoes or book bags. Columbus school nurses receive training on how to identify problems and provide information to families without embarrassing students.

• Firefighters have picked up bedbugs and carried them back to their stations after runs to infested residences. Some of the crew at a station in the hard-hit western part of the county changed to slip-on boots so that bedbugs can't hide behind the tongues and laces.

• The Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging says numerous infestations are causing pain and anguish among the elderly, especially those in low-income housing. Outreach workers sometimes put their clothing in high-heat dryers to kill hitchhiking bugs after visits.

• Franklin County Children Services is spending thousands of dollars on new bedding, mattress covers and extermination for families. The agency recently stopped accepting donations of used toys because of the risk of transmission. The Salvation Army is receiving increasing requests for help with new furniture.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture also is investigating several cases of faulty pesticide application and misuse.

Some desperate people who don't know how to eradicate the bugs or don't have the money for an exterminator are turning to dangerous chemicals that aren't meant for indoor use. In at least one case, people were sickened. In a few others, fires broke out.

"We know that these things are occurring, and we're very concerned," said Matt Beal of the Agriculture Department. He also has received reports of unlicensed applicators promising families cheap treatments.

"It's just a matter of time before somebody dies," Jones said.

The task force has asked Franklin County for $128,000 to launch a more aggressive attack. If approved, the grant money would help with public information and pay for extermination in about 100 residences.

Paul Wenning of the Franklin County Board of Health said the task force is trying to gather data on cases, but the job is difficult because no single agency collects it and many residents don't report the problem.

A tally of complaints to the Columbus Code Enforcement Division, the county health department and just three of about 40 area exterminating companies last year revealed more than 2,700 complaints, a number that almost certainly is low.

Beal said state agriculture officials keep hoping the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will change course and approve the use of Propoxur, a once-common pesticide that is effective on bedbugs but could, after significant exposure, be harmful to children.

Task-force members say the suffering they see each day dwarfs the pesticide risk. Although bedbugs are not known to spread disease, their bites can cause welts, rashes or infections from scratching.

Jones said she goes out each week to chronicle effects. She has found disabled residents sitting in infested wheelchairs, elderly residents wearing coats and gloves for protection in the summer, babies with bites on their faces.

"You cannot be unchanged when you see that," Jones said, her voice rising. "Something has to be done."

For more information or help, go to centralohiobedbugs.org.

rprice@dispatch.com

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